Ethical Fading at the University of Illinois: How Self-Deception and Organizational Routines Privileged Clout Over Merit in Admissions

• In Event: 31.042 - Prestige, Rank, and Admissions

Abstract

Recent research in behavioral ethics asserts that organizational misconduct stems from cognitive biases rather than individual moral failings. This manuscript advances this perspective by examining an exposed “shadow” admissions process for high-profile applicants at the University of Illinois (UI). The manuscript illustrates how this secret process demonstrates the concept of “ethical fading.” A critical analysis of public testimony from a state investigative commission reveals that UI administrators and trustees rationalized providing preferential treatment in admissions as serving UI’s best interests. The manuscript advances our understanding of organizational misconduct by providing empirical support for the concept of ethical fading, including identifying self-deception mechanisms that enabled administrators and trustees to ignore ethical considerations, and analyzing how organizational routines exacerbated these self-deception mechanisms.

Author

• Nathan Frederick Harris, University of Michigan